Who Should Run San Francisco and Muni? Ask The Muni Rider Voter Guide.

It’s no secret that Muni’s problems are on people’s minds these days. Sunday’s FailWhale Regatta in the tunnel, which led to a total shutdown of service downtown is the latest reminder that Muni Has Problems, and they’re not going away anytime soon.

Thus, while I hate the discussion of Big “P” Politics when talking about making Muni the best system possible, there’s no denying that the people we hire/elect to run San Francisco have a direct influence on what happens to Muni.

They’ll do so without asking any of the prospective candidates one single question about transit, Muni, or how to improve it. Neither will the have been asked their position on the Fix Muni Now Charter Amendment – which 75,000 people signed a petition to amend the City Charter and fix arcane work rules at Muni in the hopes of making the agency use its resources more efficiently. At least, that’s according to the latest download of the questionnaire on their site.

This is especially surprising because Party Chair Aaron Peskin has been one of the few people, as an elected official and as a civilian since leaving office, to try and take on the challenges of fixing Muni. He has always been candid about what’s worked, what’s not, and how difficult it is to fix a large city department like the SFMTA. (Yes, really. Calm down.)

It’s not surprising, however, given that there are candidates voting for their own endorsements, and incumbent Supervisors serve on the party’s board of directors, that Muni issues might get swept under the rug. An Ivy League degree is apparently no guarantee someone won’t play games with your fare and tax dollars, or engage in political shenanigans.